System and method for non-linear detection of ultrasonic contrast agents at a fundamental frequency

ABSTRACT

A system and method for fundamental real-time imaging of the non-linear response of tissue perfused with a contrast agent are disclosed. An image with increased sensitivity to non-linear responses can be achieved by detecting the ultrasound response at the fundamental frequency from tissue perfused with a contrast agent and excited by multiple excitation levels. The responses detected from the multiple excitation levels may be gain corrected in an amount corresponding to the difference in magnitude of the excitation levels, then mathematically combined. The mathematical manipulation serves to remove linear responses to the fumdamental excitation from the detected image. An ultrasonic contrast agent and tissue imaging system can be implemented with a transducer, first and second transmitters, a receiver, a control system, a processing system and a display. The transmitters generate electrical signals that are translated by the transducer into first and second pressure waves respectively, the respective pressure waves being of different power magnitudes. A control system electrically coupled to the transmitters, the transducer, and a receiver, coordinates pressure wave transmissions and the reception of ultrasonic responses. A processing system removes linear responses leaving the non-linear responses from the contrast agent and the surrounding tissue. Lastly, a display configured to receive the non-linear response creates an image of the insonified contrast agent and surrounding tissue.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to ultrasonic imaging. More particularly,the invention relates to a system and method for fundamental imaging ofthe non-linear response of tissue perfused with a contrast agent.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Ultrasonic imaging has quickly replaced conventional X-rays in manyclinical applications because of image quality, safety, and low cost.Ultrasonic images are typically formed through the use of phased orlinear array transducers which are capable of transmitting and receivingpressure waves directed into a medium, such as the human body. Suchtransducers normally comprise multielement piezoelectric materials,which vibrate in response to an applied voltage to produce the desiredpressure waves.

To obtain high quality images, the transducer is constructed so as toproduce specified frequencies of pressure waves. Generally speaking, lowfrequency pressure waves provide deep penetration into the medium (e.g.,the body), but produce poor resolution images due to the length of thetransmitted wavelengths. On the other hand, high frequency pressurewaves provide high resolution, but with poor penetration. Accordingly,the selection of a transmitting frequency has involved balancingresolution and penetration concerns. Unfortunately, resolution hassuffered at the expense of deeper penetration and vice versa.Traditionally, the frequency selection problem has been addressed byselecting the highest imaging frequency (i.e., best resolution) whichoffers adequate penetration for a given application. For example, inadult cardiac imaging, frequencies in the 2 MHz to 3 MHz range aretypically selected in order to penetrate the chest wall. Lowerfrequencies have not been used due to the lack of sufficient imageresolution. Higher frequencies are often used for radiology and vascularapplications where fine resolution is required to image small lesionsand arteries affected by stenotic obstructions.

Recently, new methods have been studied in an effort to obtain both highresolution and deep penetration. One such method is known as “harmonicimaging.” Harmonic imaging is grounded on the phenomenon that objects,such as human tissues, develop and return their own non-fundamentalfrequencies, i.e., harmonics of the fundamental frequency. Thisphenomenon and increased image processing capabilities of digitaltechnology, make it is possible to excite an object to be imaged bytransmitting at a low (and therefore deeply penetrating) fundamentalfrequency (f₀) and receiving reflections at a higher frequency harmonic(e.g., 2f₀) to form a high resolution image of an object. By way ofexample, a wave having a frequency less than 2 MHz can be transmittedinto the human body and one or more harmonic waves having frequenciesgreater than 3 MHz can be received to form the image. By imaging in thismanner, deep penetration can be achieved without a concomitant loss ofimage resolution.

Harmonic imaging can be particularly effective when used in conjunctionwith contrast agents. In contrast agent imaging, gas or fluid filledmicro-sphere contrast agents are typically injected into a medium,normally the bloodstream. Because of their strong non-linear responsecharacteristics when insonified at particular frequencies, contrastagent resonation can be easily detected by an ultrasound transducer.More specifically, a second harmonic response occurs when a contrastagent under ultrasonic pressure “maps” energy into the harmonics of theincident pressure waves, instead of the fundamental. Various non-lineardetection schemes take advantage of the fact that contrast agentsproduce non-linear responses of a greater magnitude than the surroundingtissue. By using harmonic imaging after introducing contrast agents,medical personnel can enhance imaging capability for diagnosing thehealth of blood-filled tissues and blood flow dynamics within apatient's arterial system. For example, contrast agent harmonic imagingis especially effective in detecting myocardial boundaries, assessingmicrovascular blood flow, and detecting myocardial perfusion.Transducers have been designed for transmit frequencies in the range of2 MHz to 3 MHz for sufficient resolution of cardiac valves, endocardialborders and other cardiac structures.

The power or mechanical index of the impinging ultrasound signaldirectly affects the contrast agent acoustical response. At lowerpowers, microbubbles resonate and emit harmonics of the transmittedfrequency. The magnitude of these microbubble harmonics depends on themagnitude of the excitation signal pulse. At higher acoustical powers,microbubbles rupture and emit strong broadband signals.

A prior art diagnostic system, disclosed by Johnson et al. in U.S. Pat.No. 5,456,257, teaches improved imaging by introducing coatedmicrobubble contrast agents in the body of a patient. The '257 patentfurther teaches destroying the contrast agents with ultrasonic energyand detecting the microbubble destruction through phase insensitivedetection and differentiation of echoes received from consecutiveultrasonic transmissions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system and method for real-timeimaging of tissue perfused with a contrast agent. An image withincreased sensitivity to non-linear responses, can be achieved bydetecting the ultrasound response at the fundamental frequency fromtissue perfused with a contrast agent and excited by multiple excitationlevels. Briefly described, in architecture, an ultrasonic contrast agentand tissue imaging system can be implemented with a transducer, firstand second transmitters, a receiver, a control system, a processingsystem and a display. The ultrasonic contrast agent and tissue imagingsystem may be configured such that the first and second transmittersgenerate first and second electrical signals that are translated by thetransducer into first and second pressure waves respectively, therespective pressure waves being of different magnitudes. A controlsystem electrically coupled to the first and second transmitters, thetransducer, and a receiver coordinates pressure wave transmissions andthe reception of ultrasonic responses from the insonified contrast agentand tissue. A processing system electrically coupled to the receiverprocesses the multiple responses in a manner such that linear responsesare removed leaving the non-linear responses from the contrast agent andthe surrounding tissue. Lastly, a display configured to receive thenon-linear response creates an image of the insonified contrast agentand surrounding tissue.

The present invention can also be viewed as providing one or moremethods for non-linear ultrasonic response signal detection. In thisregard, one such method can be broadly summarized by the followingsteps: introducing a contrast agent into the tissue targeted forimaging; insonifying the tissue at a first intensity to generate a firstresponse; insonifying the tissue at a second intensity, wherein thesecond intensity is different from the first, to generate a secondresponse; separately measuring the first and second responses at thefundamental frequency; generating a projected response from the firstresponse; and mathematically manipulating the projected response and thesecond response to derive the non-linear response.

Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art uponexamination of the following drawings and detailed description. It isintended that all such additional systems, methods, features, andadvantages be included within this description, be within the scope ofthe present invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention can be better understood with reference to the followingdrawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale,emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principlesof the present invention. Moreover, in the drawings, like referencenumerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an ultrasound imaging system capable ofmultiple level ultrasound insonification;

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of an ultrasonic contrast agent and tissueimaging system in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2B is a flowchart illustrating a diagnostic method for creating animage with increased sensitivity using the ultrasound imaging system ofFIG. 2A;

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate potential displays that might be generated bythe ultrasound imaging system of FIG. 2A, when the image plane isfocused on a portion of the circulatory system of a patient; and

FIGS. 4A-4B along with FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate the effect of stenosis onblood flow through the heart and lungs of a patient perfused with acontrast agent.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Having summarized various aspects of the present invention, referencewill now be made in detail to the description of the invention asillustrated in the drawings. While the invention will be described inconnection with these drawings, there is no intent to limit it to theembodiment or embodiments disclosed therein. On the contrary, the intentis to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents includedwithin the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appendedclaims. Turning now to the drawings, wherein like referenced numeralsdesignate corresponding parts throughout the drawings, reference is madeto FIG. 1, which illustrates a block diagram of an ultrasound imagingsystem 100 capable of multiple level ultrasound insonification. Anexample of an ultrasound imaging system 100 for producing a series ofultrasonic pulses with multiple excitation levels is disclosed in U.S.Pat. No. 5,577,505 which shares a common assignee with the presentapplication and the contents of which are incorporated herein in theirentirety.

In this regard, the ultrasound imaging system 100 may comprise atransducer 102, a radio-frequency (RF) switch 104, at least twotransmitters 106, 108 (two shown), a time gain control amplifier 110, ananalog to digital converter (ADC) 112, a beamformer 114, a firstamplifier 116, a second amplifier 118, a RF filter 120, a first detector122, a line 1 storage and a line 2 storage 124 a, 124 b, a line 1 RFfilter and a line 2 RF filter 125 a, 125 b, a first video compressor 126a, a second video compressor 126 b, a process signal detector 127, afirst accumulator 128, a second accumulator 130, and a monitor 132. Thetransducer 102 may be electrically coupled to RF switch 104. The RFswitch 104 may be configured as shown with two or more transmit inputscoupled to a first transmitter 106 and a second transmitter 108. Theoutput of RF switch 104 may be electrically coupled to the time gaincontrol amplifier 110. The RF switch 104 may be further configured withan output coupled to the time gain control amplifier 110. The time gaincontrol amplifier 110 may be coupled to an ADC 112 before forwarding theresponse signals to a beamformer 114. The beamformer 114 may be coupledto a first amplifier 116 and a second amplifier 118. The first amplifier116 may be further coupled to a RF filter 120, a first detector 122, anda first video compressor 126 a, as well as, a line 1 storage 124 a and aline 1 RF filter 125 a. The second amplifier 118 may be coupled to aline 2 storage 124 b, which may be further coupled to a line 2 RF filter125 b. Output signals from both the line 1 and the line 2 RF filters 125a, 125 b may be electrically coupled with a first accumulator 128. Theoutput from the first accumulator 128 may be electrically coupled to aprocess signal detector 127 and a second video compressor 126 b beforebeing forwarded to a second accumulator 130. The second accumulator 130may be configured to receive output signals from both the first andsecond video compressors 126 a, 126 b and to supply an input signal tomonitor 132.

The RF switch 104 isolates the transmitter portion of the ultrasoundimaging system 100 from the receiver portion. The multi-transmitterarchitecture illustrated in FIG. 1 allows for variable power levelsbetween transmit events (ultrasound lines), which are furtherillustrated in FIG. 1 by ultrasound lines 115. When the ultrasound lines115 encounter a tissue layer 113 that is receptive to ultrasoundinsonification the multiple transmit events or ultrasound lines 115penetrate the tissue layer 113. As long as the magnitude of the multipleultrasound lines exceeds the attenuation affects of the tissue layer113, the multiple ultrasound lines 115 will reach an internal target121. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that tissue boundaries orintersections between tissues with different ultrasonic impedances willdevelop ultrasonic responses at harmonics of the fundamental frequencyof the multiple ultrasound lines 115. It will be further appreciatedthat tissue insonified with ultrasonic waves develops harmonic responsesbecause the compressional portion of the insonified waveforms travelsfaster than the rarefactional portions. The different rates of travel ofthe compressional and the rarefactional portions of the waveforms causesthe wave to distort producing an harmonic signal which is reflected orscattered back through the various tissue boundaries.

As further illustrated in FIG. 1, such harmonic responses may bedepicted by ultrasonic reflections 117. It is significant to note thatwhile FIG. 1 illustrates only a second harmonic response to the incidentmultiple ultrasound lines 115 impinging the internal target 121 otherharmonic responses may also observed. As by way of example, it is knownthat subharmonic, harmonic, and ultraharmonic responses may be createdat the tissue boundary between tissue layer 113 and the internal target121, when the internal target has been perfused with one or morecontrast agents. The internal target 121 alone will produce harmonicresponses at integer multiples of the fundamental frequency. Variouscontrast agents on the other hand, have been shown to producesubharmonic, harmonic, and ultraharmonic responses.

Those ultrasonic reflections of a magnitude that exceeds that theattenuation affects from traversing tissue layer 113 may be monitoredand converted into an electrical signal by the combination of the RFswitch 104 and transducer 102. The electrical representation of thereflected ultrasonic reflections 117 may be received at the time gaincontrol amplifier 110. The output of the time gain control amplifier 110may be converted by ADC 112 into a digital representation of the variousharmonic responses before being forwarded for further processing by thebeamformer 114. The output of the beamformer 114 may be coupled to afirst and second amplifier 116, 118. A gain for the first amplifier 116may be adjusted as function of the voltage created by the firsttransmitter 106. The second amplifier 118 may be configured inproportion to the ratio of the voltages between the first transmitter106 and the second transmitter 108. The output of time gain controlamplifier 110 may be beamformed, filtered, and demodulated to In-phase(I) and Quadrature (Q) baseband signals in beamformer 114. Two linesignals may then be stored in memory as illustrated in FIG. 1 by theline 1 storage 124 a and the line 2 storage 124 b. After gain adjustmentin the first amplifier 116, the beamformed response signal may then befiltered in RF filter 120 and envelope detected in the first detector122 prior to further processing by the first video compressor 126 a. Asfurther illustrated in FIG. 1, the line 1 reflection signal may beforwarded to the line 1 storage 124 a and later filtered in the line 1RF filter 125 a, which may be configured to reduce or eliminate harmonicresponses before forwarding the line 1 reflection signal to the firstaccumulator 128. Similarly, the line 2 reflection signal may beforwarded to the line 2 storage 124 b and later filtered in the line 2RF filter 125 b, which may also be configured to eliminate harmonicresponses before forwarding the line 2 reflection signal to the firstaccumulator 128. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the line 2 reflection signalmay be subtracted from the line 1 reflection signal in accumulator 128.The output of the first accumulator 128 may then be processed by aprocess signal detector 127 before forwarding the detected differencebetween the line 1 and line 2 reflection signals to the second videocompressor 126 b. Both the first video processed reflection image andthe second video processed reflection image may then be combined in thesecond accumulator 130 with both images being shown simultaneously viathe monitor 132.

While the ultrasound imaging system 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 depictsmathematical combination in the first accumulator 128 of the non-linearresponse prior to signal detection, it will be apparent to those skilledin the art that the step of subtraction may be performed afterdetection. As by way of a non-limiting example, a RF domain subtractionmay be performed by combining or adding a plurality of phase invertedpulses, then processing the residual signal through an envelopedetector. Such a system is more sensitive to relative motion between thetwo responses than a system that performs envelope detection on aplurality of input signals prior to mathematically combining the inputsignals to derive the non-linear response.

Having described the architecture and operation of the ultrasoundimaging system 100 of FIG. 1, attention is now directed to FIG. 2A,which illustrates a block diagram of an ultrasonic contrast agent andtissue imaging (UCATI) system in accordance with the present invention.

In this regard, the UCATI system 150 may comprise a transducer 102′, aRF switch 104′, a transmit control 152, a system controller 154, ananalog to digital converter (ADC) 112′, a time gain control amplifier110′, a beamformer 114′, a RF filter 120′, a signal processor 156, avideo processor 158, and a monitor 132′. The transducer 102′ may beelectrically coupled to RF switch 104′. The RF switch 104′ may beconfigured as shown with a transmit input coupled to the transmitcontrol 152 and a transducer port electrically coupled to the transducer102′. The output of the RF switch 104′ may be electrically coupled tothe ADC 112′ before further processing by the time gain controlamplifier 110′. The time gain control amplifier 110′ may be coupled to abeamformer 114′. The beamformer 114′ may be coupled to the RF filter120′. The RF filter 120′ may be further coupled to a signal processor156 before further processing in the video processor 158. The videoprocessor 158 may then be configured to supply an input signal to amonitor 132′. The system controller 154 may be coupled to the RF switch104′, the transmit control 152, the ADC 112′, the RF filter 120′, andboth the signal processor 156 and the video processor 158 to providenecessary timing signals to each of the various devices.

As will be appreciated by persons having ordinary skill in the art, thesystem controller 154 can include one or more processors, computers, andother hardware and software components for coordinating the overalloperation of the UCATI system 150. In addition, it will be appreciatedthat the system controller 154 may include software which comprises anordered listing of executable instructions for implementing logicalfunctions, which can be embodied in any computer-readable medium for useby or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, ordevice, such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, orother system that can fetch the instructions from the instructionexecution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. Thecomputer readable medium can be, for instance, an electronic, magnetic,optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus,device, or propagation medium. Such a list of executable instructions isfurther illustrated in FIG. 2A as a method for ultrasonic imaging 200,which will be further explained in connection with FIG. 2B.

The RF switch 104′ isolates the plurality of transmit signals that maybe generated and distributed by transmit control 152 from the ultrasonicresponse receiving and processing sections comprising the remainingelements illustrated in FIG. 2A. The system architecture illustrated inFIG. 2A provides a plurality of electronic transmit signals that may beconverted by the transducer 102′ to one or more ultrasonic pressurewaves herein illustrated by ultrasound lines 115. Those ultrasonicreflections of a magnitude that exceeds that the attenuation affectsfrom traversing tissue layer 113 may be monitored and converted into anelectrical signal by the combination of the RF switch 104′ andtransducer 102′. The electrical representation of the reflectedultrasonic reflections 117 may be received at the ADC 112′ where theyare converted into a digital signal. The time gain control amplifier110′ coupled to the output of the ADC 112′ may be configured to adjustamplification in relation to the total time a particular ultrasound lineneeded to traverse the tissue layer 113. In this way, response signalsfrom one or more internal targets 121 will be gain corrected so thatultrasonic reflections 117 generated from relatively shallow objects donot overwhelm, in magnitude, ultrasonic reflections 117 generated frominsonified objects further removed from the transducer 102′.

The output of the time gain control amplifier 110′ may be beamformed,filtered and demodulated via the beamformer 114′, the RF filter 120′,and the signal processor 156. The processed response signal may then beforwarded to the video processor 158. The video version of the responsesignal may then be forwarded to monitor 132′ where an ultrasound image300 may be viewed. It will be further appreciated by those of ordinaryskill in the art that the UCATI system 150 of the present invention maybe configured to produce one or more images and or oscilloscopic tracesalong with other tabulated and or calculated information that would beuseful to the operator.

Having described the architecture of the UCATI system 150 of the presentinvention, attention is now directed to FIG. 2B, which illustrates aflowchart depicting a corresponding method that may be performed by theUCATI system 150 of FIG. 2A.

In this regard, a method for ultrasonic imaging 200 of one or morecontrast agents begins with step 202 designated “start.” In step 204, apatient may be treated with one or more contrast agents. As will befurther explained in relation to FIGS. 3-5, contrast agents may beintroduced into the bloodstream of a patient in order to enhance anultrasonic image 300 of portions of the circulatory system of thepatient. After introducing the one or more contrast agents in step 204and waiting for an appropriate amount of time, the UCATI system 150 ofFIG. 2A may be configured to insonify tissue targeted for observation ata first power level as illustrated in step 206. Next, in step 208, theUCATI system 150 may be configured to measure, process, and record thenon-linear response at the fundamental frequency to the first transmitevent or ultrasound reflection 117 initiated by the ultrasound waveintroduced in step 206.

Next, in step 210, the method for ultrasound imaging 200 continues byinsonifying the tissue targeted for observation at a second power level.In step 212, the UCATI system 150 scales the first non-linear responseto the first ultrasound reflection 117 for the second power level ofstep 210 to create a projected response. Next, in step 214, the UCATIsystem 150 may be configured to measure, process, and record thenon-linear response at the fundamental frequency to the second transmitevent or ultrasound reflection 117 initiated by the ultrasound waveintroduced in step 210. In step 216, the projected response may besubtracted from the stored second response to determine the non-linearresponse due to the one or more contrast agents introduced in step 204.Any linear responses from both the surrounding tissue and the one ormore contrast agents will be removed by step 216, leaving the non-linearresponses of both the tissue and the one or more contrast agents fordisplay by monitor 132′ of the UCATI system 150 (see FIG. 2A). Last, themethod for ultrasound imaging 200 may perform step 218, designated“stop.”

It is significant to note that while the above description disclosesultrasonic response measurement at the fundamental frequency thetransmit and receive portions of the UCATI system 150 may be matched interms of bandwidth or a time domain impulse response. Using a matchedreceiver for measuring the ultrasonic responses has the principaladvantage of providing maximum sensitivity as an imaging modality basedat the fundamental frequency is subject to less attenuation than animaging modality that measures harmonic responses. A further advantageof measuring ultrasonic responses at the fundamental frequency is that atransducer 102′ (see FIG. 2A) need only have adequate sensitivity at thefundamental frequency. A third advantage of using a matched receiver isthat the contrast agent response is larger at the fundamental than atthe harmonics.

While the contrast agent non-linear response is greatest at thefundamental frequency, particular contrast agent responses may berelatively close to the noise floor across the received signal bandwidthof the UCATI system 150. In order to minimize the introduction ofresidual artifacts from imperfect response signal cancellation that mayresult from the insonification of tissue and the one or more contrastagents with a plurality of transmit waveforms, it is important to verifythat the various transmitted waveforms are closely matched. As by way ofexample, for pulse inverted waveforms T1 and T2, if it is determinedthat T1 has a peak-to-peak pressure difference of 0.4 and that T2 has apeak-to-peak pressure difference of 0.396, the matching may be expressedin decibels (dB) as shown below: $\begin{matrix}{{{matching}\quad ({dB})} = {{20\quad {\log_{10}\left( \frac{\left( {{.4} - {.396}} \right)}{.4} \right)}} = {{- 40}\quad {dB}}}} & {{Eq}.\quad 1}\end{matrix}$

As a result, for transmitted waveforms with a 1.0% difference in theirmagnitudes, the non-linear contrast agent response will have to begreater than both the noise floor of the system and above any residualartifact introduced by the imperfect mathematical cancellation of tissueresponse signals (tissue signal −40 dB in the example above), in orderfor the UCATI system 150 to detect and display the response.

There are at least a couple of benefits of imaging a contrast agentwhile not impinging the contrast agent with sufficient energy to destroythe contrast agent. First, images are easier to acquire. As by way ofexample, imaging with destruction of a contrast agent requires thesonographer to hold the imaging plane for multiple cardiac cycleswithout visual feedback—a very challenging task. Second, function of anorgan of interest can be monitored over time. As by way of furtherexample, the function of the heart may be observed. In other words, doesthe bloodstream carrying the one or more contrast agents indicateadequate blood flow through each of the chambers of the heart.Similarly, is the contrast between the blood-filled chambers and thevarious structures of the heart indicative of a wall motion abnormality.

It is important to note that method descriptions or blocks in the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 2B should be understood as representingmodules, segments, or portions of code which include one or moreexecutable instructions for implementing specific logical functions orsteps in the process, and alternate implementations are included withinthe scope of the preferred embodiment of the present invention in whichfunctions may be executed out of order from that shown or discussed,including substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending onthe functionality involved, as would be understood by those reasonablyskilled in the art of the present invention.

The magnitude of ultrasonic reflections 117 that result from ultrasoundinsonification varies with transmitted power and is significantlydifferent for human tissue than that for contrast agents. For example,contrast agents have been shown to exhibit a non-linear responsegenerated as a function of incident pressure squared. Tissue generatesnon-linear ultrasonic responses, which are significantly smaller inmagnitude than that for contrast agents particularly at lower transmitpowers.

By taking advantage of the difference in magnitude of the non-linearresponses to ultrasound insonification and focusing on the fundamentalfrequency, the ultrasound imaging method of the present inventionpermits real-time perfusion observation to be performed with low-costnarrow bandwidth transducers. The ultrasound imaging method of thepresent invention also allows the received or observation frequency tobe selected anywhere within the bandwidth of the transducer. Inaddition, by detecting non-linear responses of contrast agents at thefundamental frequency, the present invention takes advantage of factthat contrast agent responses are greatest at the fundamental.

Harmonic imaging methods, on the other hand, require the receivedfrequency to be at a harmonic (usually twice) of the fundamental ortransmitted frequency, which typically forces both the transmit andreceive frequencies to be located near the skirts of the transducer'sbandwidth where the magnitude of ultrasonic transmissions andreflections is typically attenuated. It is further significant to notethat imaging techniques that focus on harmonic responses are alsoadversely affected by the increased attenuation signal losses thatresult in traversing the various tissues of the human body at the higherfrequency harmonics.

As used herein, power level relates to insonification or acousticintensity. Mechanical index is one parameter used to measure acousticintensity. Mechanical index is a United States Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) regulated parameter defined as peak rarefactionalpressure in Mpa divided by the square root of the center frequency inMHz. Current FDA regulations limit the mechanical index to a maximum of1.9, after allowing for tissue related frequency dependent attenuation.

It is important to note that different contrast agents responddifferently to various insonification and detection techniques. It istheorized that these different responses can be explained due toflexibility of the shell material used to encase the agent, the sizedistribution within the body, and the particular characteristics of thegas inside the shell. As a result, determining an effective mechanicalindex for a particular application is somewhat patient and agentspecific. The mechanical index needs to be low enough to not destroy thecontrast agent while maintaining a linear response signal frominsonified tissue. On the other hand, the mechanical index needs to behigh enough to overcome the effects of tissue attenuation at thefundamental frequency while initiating a non-linear response from theone or more contrast agents. Generally, a mechanical index from 0.05 to0.5 will meet these requirements for a broad range of contrast agentsstarting from the most fragile to the more resilient.

As described earlier with regard to FIGS. 1 and 2A achieving differentpower levels in each of two or more transmit events or ultrasound lines115 (see FIG. 1) may be accomplished in several different ways. Apreferred method of achieving the different power settings is by varyingthe transmit voltage. Varying transmit voltage has the direct result ofvarying the pressure amplitude of the resultant transmitted ultrasoundlines 115 (see FIG. 1). Alternatively, different power levels may beaccomplished by controlling the size of the aperture of the transducer102′ (see FIG. 2A). The aperture size may be varied in the lateral orelevation dimensions by using a synthetic aperture methodology. Theaperture may be divided into two or more groups with transmit ultrasoundlines 115 being separately fired from each group. The subsequentreflected energy is then stored. The entire aperture is then used totransmit a second incident pressure wave with an increased energy level.The subsequent reflected energy is again stored. In this embodiment, thescaling step includes beamforming the response from the two or moresmaller apertures and subtracting those results from the response due toexcitation from the entire aperture to determine the non-linearresponse.

Another way of controlling transmitted power levels is to fire a subsetof elements in the array and compare the scaled subset response to aresponse from the entire transducer array. This method should beperformed in a manner to reduce and or minimize grating lobes that stemfrom undersampling the aperture and steering errors that result fromassymetries about the center of the aperture.

A non-limiting example of a multi-pulse technique that fires threepulses is described below. The first pulse may be generated by firingthe “even” numbered elements within transducer 102′. The second pulsemay be generated by controllably firing all elements of the transducer102′. The third pulse may be generated by firing the “odd” numberedelements. The response signal processing portion of the UCATI system 150may be configured to mathematically combine a response from the firstand third pulses for further mathematical manipulation with the secondresponse signal. It is important to note that the selection of elementsto form the various element subsets for the first and third pulses isnot limited to “even” and “odd” numbered elements of the transducerelement array. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatmore than three pulses may be generated and fired to further extend amulti-pulse insonification and imaging technique.

The multi-pulse technique described above serves a couple of purposes.First of all, adjusting the transmitted power by firing a subset ofelements reduces the transmit power while providing the same voltagelevel to each transmission. If the transmit waveforms are not properlyscaled and inverted, or if the waveforms differ in their frequencycontent, undesired residual artifacts from imperfect tissue responsesignal cancellations may be introduced by the UCATI system 150. Bymatching the voltage level used to generate the various pulses, theUCATI system 150 of the present invention reduces any undesired tissuesignals introduced by mathematically combining signal responsesgenerated from ultrasonic transmissions of varying power levels.Transmit waveform power magnitude matching over a number of variouslevels of comparison across a received bandwidth of interest will serveto reduce residual tissue response signal artifacts that may result fromtransmit power mismatches.

A second important result from using the multi-pulse technique is thatby mathematically combining the first pulse response with the thirdpulse response, motion of an organ of interest (i.e., the heart) isaveraged, so that when the second pulse response is mathematicallyprocessed (i.e., subtracted) from the combination of the first and thirdpulse responses, motion is suppressed between the various pulses.

Yet another way of controlling the transmitted power levels is to use aphase inversion technique. Phase inversion techniques are wellunderstood by those skilled in the art of ultrasonic imaging. Thedescription of an ultrasonic imaging system capable of producing,detecting, and image processing ultrasonic responses that use phaseinversion techniques need not be described to understand the presentinvention and need not be described herein. It is significant to note,however, that mathematical post-processing of detected response signalsmay vary based on the desired effect of the processing and the phase ofthe transmitted waveforms responsible for the response signals. Bycoordinating one or more of the phase, intensity and frequency contentof multiple transmitted pulses with the applicable response processing,motion artifacts between pulses may be substantially reduced.

Another technique that may be used to vary the transmitted levels wouldbe to take advantage of the beam shape of a pressure wave. Transmittedpressure waves have a reduced magnitude that varies with angulardistance. As by way of a non-limiting example, if a pressure wave istransmitted at 0 degrees and the UCATI system 150 is configured toreceive responses at 0.0 and at 0.25 degrees, the power received at 0.25degrees will be lower since it is off the peak of the transmitted beam.

Furthermore, it is significant to note that the method for ultrasonicimaging 200 is suited to any insonification technique, which suppressestissue signal responses at the fundamental frequency of a significantmagnitude so that non-linear responses from a contrast image can bedetected. The method for ultrasonic imaging 200 may be shown as a coloroverlay such as color flow, or as a B-mode gray scale image.

Having described a method for ultrasonic imaging 200 as illustrated inFIG. 2B attention is now directed to FIGS. 3A and 3B which illustratepotential displays that can be generated from the UCATI system 150 ofFIG. 2A.

In this regard, ultrasound image 300 of FIG. 3A may comprisealphanumeric information in the form of patient identifiers 302, dateand time identifiers 304 and scanning parameters 306. In addition to theone or more alphanumeric identifiers ultrasound image 300 may comprise areal-time ultrasound image display 310 of structure in a body such as aportion of the circulatory system 320. A real-time image may be used bya clinical technician to ascertain and locate an area of interest.Preferably the image is created from echoes returned from thenon-destructive ultrasonic imaging of one or more contrast agents. FIG.3B further illustrates ultrasound image 300′, a snap-shot of a real-timeultrasound image display 310′ of a portion of the circulatory system320′ after introduction of one or more contrast agents in the patient'sbloodstream. As illustrated in FIG. 3B the non-linear response from theone or more contrast agents introduced into the bloodstream of thepatient can have a significant effect on the contrast agent to tissueratio in the ultrasound image 30′ showing a portion of the circulatorysystem 320′. It is important to note that real-time contrast agentimages may be acquired at any phase of the heart cycle, not just whenthe heart is predominately at rest. While the aforementioned real-timeimagery of the heart is especially useful in cardiology, variations ofthis method may prove useful in radiology where anatomical structuresare more stationary.

Having described two potential ultrasound images 300 and 300′ withregard to FIGS. 3A and 3B, reference is now directed to FIGS. 4A and 4B,which illustrate a partially sectioned perspective view of a humanheart. In this regard, the heart 400 comprises a right and left atrium402, 406 and a right and left ventricle 404, 408 encompassed by amyocardial tissue layer 405, with a tricuspid valve 410 separating theright atrium 402 from the right ventricle 404 and a mitral valve 440separating the left atrium 406 from the left ventricle 408. In addition,a pulmonary valve 420 separates the right ventricle 404 from thepulmonary arteries 417 and an aortic valve 430 separates the leftventricle 408 from the aorta 415. As is further illustrated in FIG. 4A,a superior and inferior vena cava 411, 413 return blood from the body tothe right atrium 402 and pulmonary veins 419 return blood from the lungs(not shown) to the left atrium 406.

Having described the relative relationships between the variousstructures and interconnections of the human heart as illustrated inFIG. 4A, reference is now directed to FIG. 4B. In this regard, FIG. 4Billustrates blood flow into, through, and out from the heart 400′. Bloodfrom the body flows into the right atrium 402 via the inferior and thesuperior vena cava 413, 411 respectively. After the tricuspid valve 410opens, blood from the right atrium 402 flows past the tricuspid valve410 into the right ventricle 404. After the pulmonary valve 420 opens,blood in the right ventricle 404 is expelled from the heart andtransferred to the right and left lungs (not shown) via the pulmonaryarteries 417. After the blood has been oxygenated in the right and leftlungs (not shown), the blood is returned via the pulmonary veins 419 tothe left atrium 406. After the mitral valve 440 opens, the oxygenatedblood flows from the left atrium 406 to the left ventricle 408. Uponopening of the aortic valve 430, blood is expelled from the heart 400′by the left ventricle 408 and is carried by the aorta 415 on its way tothe various parts of the body.

When a contrast agent has been introduced into the bloodstream, asignificant quantity of the contrast agent will be contained within theright and left atrium 402, 406 respectively, as well as, the right andleft ventricles 404, 408 of the heart 400′, while only a relativelysmaller quantity of contrast agent will enter tissues or organs by wayof capillaries within the circulatory system. In this way, theintroduction of a contrast agent into the bloodstream followed byultrasound insonification permits imaging of the blood flow through theheart for a period of time until the contrast agent has perfused themyocardial tissue layer 405.

Having described operation of the heart 400, 400′ with regard to theillustrations of FIGS. 4A and 4B, reference is now directed to FIGS. 5Athrough 5C, which illustrate measurement of the rate of perfusion of anorgan or area of the body that may be performed by the UCATI system 150of FIG. 2A. In this regard, FIG. 5A illustrates the travel of a contrastagent infused into the bloodstream of a patient via an intravenousinjection site 520 through an organ of interest 550. As previouslydescribed in relation to FIGS. 4A and 4B, operation of the heart 400,400′ promotes blood circulation from the intravenous injection site 520in a clockwise direction across the structures illustrated in FIG. 5A.Proceeding in a clockwise fashion from the intravenous injection site520 located in one of the various veins 515 (one shown for simplicity ofillustration), blood traverses the right ventricle 404 on its way to thelungs 510. Blood is returned from the lungs 510 to the heart 400 (notshown in total) where it passes from the left ventricle 408 out to thevarious parts of the body through the various arteries of the body 525(one shown for simplicity of illustration). The perfusion rate into theorgan of interest 550 can be used to evaluate the viability of bloodflow through the organ of interest 550 or to identify the location of astenosis. As further illustrated in FIG. 5B, if a stenosis 519 islocated within an artery 525 that supplies blood to organ of interest550′, the rate of expected perfusion across the various capillaries (notshown) of the organ of interest 550′ will be slowed across the entireorgan of interest 550′. On the other hand, as is illustrated with regardto FIG. 5C, if the stenosis 519 is located within an artery 525 thatfeeds a portion of the organ of interest 550″ the rate of expectedperfusion will be slowed across a small portion of the organ of interest550″.

The method for ultrasonic imaging 200 of the present invention can beimplemented via a combination of hardware, firmware, and software. Inthe preferred embodiment, the method for ultrasonic imaging 200 isimplemented in hardware, software, or firmware that is stored in amemory and that is executed by a suitable instruction execution system.If implemented in hardware, as in an alternative embodiment, the methodfor ultrasonic imaging 200 can implemented with any or a combination ofthe following technologies, which are all well known in the art: adiscrete logic circuit(s) having logic gates for implementing logicfunctions upon data signals, an application specific integrated circuit(ASIC) having appropriate combinational logic gates, a programmable gatearray(s) (PGA), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc.

The method for ultrasonic imaging 200, which comprises an orderedlisting of executable instructions for implementing logical functions,can be embodied in any computer-readable medium for use by or inconnection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device,such as a computer-based system, processor-containing system, or othersystem that can fetch the instructions from the instruction executionsystem, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. In thecontext of this document, a “computer-readable medium” can be any meansthat can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport theprogram for use by or in connection with the instruction executionsystem, apparatus, or device. The computer readable medium can be, forexample but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical,electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device,or propagation medium. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) ofthe computer-readable medium would include the following: an electricalconnection (electronic) having one or more wires, a portable computerdiskette (magnetic), a random access memory (RAM) (electronic), aread-only memory (ROM) (electronic), an erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EPROM or Flash memory) (electronic), an optical fiber (optical),and a portable compact disc read-only memory (CDROM) (optical). Notethat the computer-readable medium could even be paper or anothersuitable medium upon which the program is printed, as the program can beelectronically captured, via for instance optical scanning of the paperor other medium, then compiled, interpreted or otherwise processed in asuitable manner if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of thepresent invention, particularly, any “preferred” embodiments, are merelypossible examples of implementations, merely set forth for a clearunderstanding of the principles of the invention. Many variations andmodifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) of theinvention without departing substantially from the spirit and principlesof the invention. All such modifications and variations are intended tobe included herein within the scope of this disclosure and the presentinvention and protected by the following claims.

Having thus described the invention we claim at least the following: 1.An ultrasonic contrast agent and tissue imaging system, comprising: atransducer with transmit and receive bandwidths centered about afundamental frequency; a first transmitter to generate a first pressurewave at the fundamental frequency, the first pressure wave having afirst intensity; a second transmitter to generate a second pressure waveat the fundamental frequency, the second pressure wave having a secondintensity, wherein the second intensity is different than the firstintensity; a receiver to receive ultrasound signals reflected from anobject in a medium; a control system electrically coupled to said firstand second transmitters and said receiver, said control system used tocontrol an operation of said first and second transmitters and saidreceiver; a processing system electrically coupled to said receiver todetect both a first and a second response generated by acousticreflections from the object in the medium, the first and secondresponses resulting from the first and second pressure wavesrespectively, wherein the processing system is configured to generate aprojected response from the first response and to mathematicallymanipulate the projected response and the second response to derive thenonlinear response; and a display system electrically coupled to saidprocessing system to display an image derived from the non-linearresponse.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first and the secondpressure waves are varied in phase.
 3. The system of claim 1, whereinthe first and the second pressure waves are scaled in magnitude.
 4. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein pressure wave scaling is accomplished by:firing a first subset of transducer elements to generate the firstpressure wave; and firing a second subset of transducer elements togenerate the second pressure wave, wherein the second subset oftransducer elements overlaps the first subset of transducer elements. 5.The system of claim 3, wherein pressure wave scaling is accomplished by:firing a first subset of transducer elements to generate a firstpressure wave; firing a second subset of transducer elements to generatea second pressure wave; and firing a third subset of transducer elementsto generate a third pressure wave, wherein the sum of the magnitudesfrom both the first and the third pressure waves is substantiallyequivalent with the second pressure wave.
 6. The system of claim 1,wherein the processing system is configured to derive the non-linearresponse of both the contrast agent and the object by subtracting theprojected response from the second response.
 7. The system of claim 1,wherein the processing system is configured to derive the non-linearresponse of both the contrast agent and the object by first subtractingthe projected response from the second response prior to detecting. 8.The system of claim 1, wherein the processing system is configured toderive the non-linear response of both the contrast agent and the objectby envelope detecting the first and second responses, then subtracting aprojected envelope detected response from the second envelope detectedresponse.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the first and secondintensities are such that the contrast agent is not destroyed.
 10. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein the first and second intensities have amechanical index from 0.05 to 0.5.
 11. The system of claim 1, whereinthe first and second intensities have a transmit waveform matching ofbetter than X dB, where X is equal to
 30. 12. The system of claim 11,wherein X is equal to
 25. 13. The system of claim 11, wherein X is equalto
 20. 14. The system of claim 11, wherein X is equal to
 15. 15. Anultrasonic contrast agent and tissue imaging system, comprising: meansfor transmitting and receiving ultrasonic pressure waves about afundamental frequency; means for varying a first subset of thetransmitted pressure waves; means for varying a second subset of thetransmitted pressure waves such that the second subset of transmittedpressure waves is different from the first subset; means for controllingthe application of both the first and second subsets of transmittedpressure waves; means for generating a projected response derived fromthe first subset of transmitted pressure waves; means for generating asecond response derived from the second subset of transmitted pressurewaves; means for mathematically processing the projected response andthe second response to derive a non-linear response; and means fordisplaying an image derived from the non-linear response.
 16. The systemof claim 15, wherein the means for varying both the first and secondsubsets of transmitted pressure waves includes any combination of thegroup comprising: phase variation, power scaling, envelope shapevariation, and frequency content variation.
 17. The system of claim 15,wherein pressure wave scaling is accomplished by: firing a first set oftransducer elements to generate the first pressure wave; and firing asecond set of transducer elements to generate the second pressure wave.18. The system of claim 15, wherein pressure wave scaling isaccomplished by: means for varying a third subset of the transmittedpressure waves, wherein the sum of the magnitudes from both the firstand the third transmitted pressure waves is substantially equivalentwith the second pressure wave.
 19. The system of claim 15, wherein themeans to derive the non-linear response of both the contrast agent andthe tissue is accomplished by: subtracting the projected response fromthe second response.
 20. The system of claim 15, wherein the means forvarying both the first and second subsets of transmitted pressure wavesare such that the contrast agent is not destroyed.
 21. An ultrasoniccontrast agent and tissue imaging system, comprising: a transmitting andreceiving unit to transmit and receive ultrasonic pressure waves about afundamental frequency; a first varying unit to vary a first subset ofthe transmitted pressure waves; a second varying unit to vary a secondsubset of the transmitted pressure waves such that the second subset oftransmitted pressure waves is different from the first subset; a controlunit to control a varying operation of the first and second varyingunit; a first generating unit to generated a projected response derivedfrom the first subset of transmitted pressure waves; a second generatingunit to generate a second response derived from the second subset oftransmitted pressure waves; a processing unit to mathematically processthe projected response and the second response to derive the non-linearresponse; and a display unit to display an image derived from thenon-linear response.